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Coastal Ecology
Blue Root A small flower that grows around the base of Tower Trees. '' Wild Wheat Created by a farmer who wished to make his fortune growing it barren lands, Wild Wheat is barely edible (for humans) but extremely common. A land covered in Wild Wheat is commonly known as a Wheatland. Wild Wheat is certainly not native to the coastal areas, but it can tolerate both occasional seawater and nutrient barren soils, enabling it to grow all along the shore. created for barren lands, would this kind of wheat grow in coastal regions? -- [[User:Jim.mcewan|Jim]] regions can be barren (just ask Chile), but it does seem we're going for more of a tropic, near-tropic coast with the current cluster of creatures. That being said, I've been thinking of the Wild Wheat as an invasive species; some guy created it for barren lands, but it took over everywhere. And it's not even very edible! -- [[User:Azuaron|Azuaron]] got the intent correct, this is meant as an invasive species. I would think almost all species would be invasive in a place where they are redefined at whims every couple centries. and I really could have done a better job explaining [[User:Desert viking|Desert viking] 01:21, January 17, 2012 (UTC)] Tower Trees These are twisted palm trees that just grow and grow. eventually they are unable to support there massive structures, and they fall over. They are sometimes called ''Sleeping Giants due to the Blue Root ''that grows around them. Harvester Crabs Two foot crabs that act like ants, cutting down the Wild Wheat and taking it to their lairs. The Queen is intelligent. intellegent? Dog? Cat? Human? Ozymandias? -- [[User:Azuaron|Azuaron]] Crab Condor A massive bird that preys on all sorts of creatures, but specializes in dropping harvester crabs on rocs. bird seems a little unrealistic - why would it catch Harvester Crabs to drop them on the smaller Rocs? Surely it would eat the much larger Crab? -- [[User:Jim.mcewan|Jim]] been thinking the Crabs broke upon hitting the Rocs, and the Condor ate the Crabs, though I was curious why the Condor would drop the Crabs on Rocs instead of on rocks. -- [[User:Azuaron|Azuaron]] Roc A large insect with an almost impossibly hard, rock-like shell. Incredibly tasty once shell is broken. Swimming Squirrel A small mammal that nests in the tower trees and eats nuts, seeds, kelp, and shrimp. Sand Termite Sand Termites are found mostly amidst Wheatlands, where their expansive mounds play an important part in the ecology of the area. They mainly feed on left over Crab and Roc carcuss, and scavange and hoard everything else; the most significant thing being ''Dust. Such is the regularity of findings, some humans dedicate their lives finding and excavating these mounds on the hunt for Dust. ''It is not known what effect ''Dust has on these Termites. Royal Kelp Refers to both the family of Kelp and largest Kelp of that family, distinctive for its length and purple colour. See Also: King Kelp, Castle Kelp and Throne Kelp Cattle Fish A large fish (four feet in length, and up to sixty pounds) created by a fisher long ago. They are docile, slow moving, and mostly live off of Royal Kelp. However, the fact that they are slow moving and easy to catch has attracted some predators to the area, most notably, the sea wolf. Cattle Fish reproduce often and at an amazingly high rate, allowing them to survive the regular purging by both fishermen and predators. With their great reproduction rate, and size, schools of Cattle Fish can strip areas of Royal Kelp if left unchecked. Sea Wolf A large predator of the sea that hunts Cattle Fish and any stray humans they can find. Cunning if not intelligent, they hunt in packs, have a keen sense of smell, and multiple rows of sharp teeth. Fire Algae Also known as ''DragonTail Algae, BurningTail Algae or Glowroot Algae; ''it is a breed of Algae that is believed to have developed due Instinctual Evolution, as a bi-product of Forced Evolution in the human cultivation process. The only visible difference between Fire Algae and its prevolved cousin, ''Saltwater Seed Algae, ''is the small stem that protrudes from the underbelly of the floating bud. The bright glow from this bulb is what gives the Fire Algae it’s various names. Although not proven at this time, the evolution of Fire Algae has been hypothesised as being a natural reaction to the residual toxins in the atmosphere left by the build up of alien substances. Ocean Lily Symbiosis Ocean Lily A saltwater water lily. The stalks can grow to be 60 feet (allowing them to live in water as deep as 60 feet) and the pads can get up to three feet in diameter. The Lilies are pollinated by bees, which, in combination with their depth limit of 60 feet, limit them to coastal areas, or self-pollinated by Underwater Horn Ants (below). The seeds of the Ocean Lily are golf ball-sized nuts with a shell that is semi-permeable to seawater. The nut floats, slowly taking in water until, eventually, it sinks under the increased weight to the bottom of the ocean, where the Underwater Horn Ants strip the husk and bury the seed so it can germinate. The nuts are farmed by the local intelligent life (humans, etc.), and the farmers must be careful to ensure their crop doesn't slowly migrate away with the current. Underwater Horn Ants These underwater ants live in a symbiotic relationship with the Ocean Lily, and live in hollow "horns" in the base and pad of the lily. The ants have limited swimming capability, but do have a kind of swim bladder, allowing them, if dislodged from the lily, to sink to the bottom and crawl back. The ants keep the Ocean Lilies safe from herbovores, while the Lilies provide the ants with a home and food (the husks of the lily nuts). Additionally, the ants will eat kelp, anything they kill while protecting the lilies, anything dead they find, and pretty much anything else. Ocean Lily/Underwater Horn Ant symbiotic relationship and evolution Initially, the Ocean Lily and Underwater Horn Ant evolved (force evolved?) separately, the Ocean Lily first, followed by the Underwater Horn Ant, which quickly moved in to the spacious horns of the Ocean Lily upon discovering them. Ocean Lilies previously dropped seeds that sank, until an entrepreneurial farmer decided that nuts encased in floating husks would be far easier to harvest. This caused a problem, whereby the husks prevented the seeds from germinating on their own. This problem was solved by the Underwater Horn Ant, which ate the husks and trampled the seeds into the ocean floor. As a result, all Ocean Lilies without Underwater Horn Ant symbiotes died off. The Giant Kelp Lobster. The Giant Kelp Lobster is a predatory species of Crustacean similar in appearance and taste to the earth variety. How ever these lobsters both opportunistic and ambush predators with the largest species of Kelp lobster living in Royal Kelp. Earthlings may call them the Mantis Lobster due to their mantis like limbs that are camouflaged to seem like young leaves of the kelp they hid in. these claws are used to snag prey and either hold on while the lobster eats on it or pull the prey down to the lobster for consumption. some times farmed carefully in conjunction to one of their prey foods the Cattlefish. Males of the species tend to congregate in groups for most of the year while the females are fiercely territorial against others sometimes even males. The female Kelp Lobsters can be cannibalistic and eat females who fail in their territory challenges and even the eggs of another female if found in their territory. females are larger in general and would eat a newly molted male. the Males however are more social though this lessens around breeding season when its believed the warmer waters make them more aggressive. The young to adolescent Kelp Lobsters tend to live away from the hunting ground of the adults who live higher in the kelp. these Kelp Lobster tend to eat scraps and small scavenger fish or other crustacean Though Farmed they are not completely domesticated. adapted by their farmers over the cycles of meteor fall and by careful management of breeding they have been increased in size and molded to better catch prey,(those that eat them claim a better taste in the more active versions). related by split evolution to more domesticated Pig Lobster. Category:ecology Category:coast Category:ocean Category:flora Category:fauna Category:farming